Scott Pilgrim Star on Reuniting With Director Edgar Wright for Arnold Schwarzenegger Reboot
Michael Cera is having a busy 2025. He’s part of the star-studded ensemble of Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, and later his year he’ll also re-team with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World director Edgar Wright for a reboot of the ’80s action flick The Running Man, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’ll be the first time the actor and director have worked together on a film since the smash hit Scott Pilgrim. Speaking exclusively with ComicBook, Cera shared his excitement for The Running Man, which hits theaters this November, as well as promising that viewers can expect a nonstop, “breathless” ride.
In the original 1987 The Running Man Schwarzenegger played Ben Richards, a falsely convicted policeman in an alternate, dystopian America who must participate in a TV game show where convicts, runners, must battle killers for their freedom. In Wright’s reboot, Glen Powell (Twisters, Hit Man) is playing Ben Richards. Not much is known about Cera’s role, but from what we do know, Wright claimed the new film is “very much” different from the original.
Cera Calls Wright’s The Running Man Reboot a “Really Fun Ride”
Cera told ComicBook that The Running Man is “a really crazy movie. I’m so excited for people to see it. I’m so excited to see it myself. I only can speak about my chunk of the movie, but Edgar did show me a little bit of what else they shot and it just looks like a really fun ride. It’s a breathless movie. It just doesn’t stop. It shoots out of a cannon and just keeps going.”
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Cera will play a naïve rebel who tries to help Powell’s character. The Running Man is based on a Stephen King novel published in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, that was, funnily enough, set in 2025. Given Wright’s ability to blend action, intrigue, and dark humor, he makes for a perfect choice to bring an updated version of The Running Man to life in an America that increasingly feels dystopian. In addition to Powell and Cera, The Running Man will feature actors Colman Domingo, Katy O’Brian, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, and William H. Macy.
Cera’s Role in The Phoenician Scheme Mirrors His Part in The Running Man
Cera is no stranger to star-studded ensembles. In The Phoenician Scheme, he plays Bjorn Lund, a Norwegian entomologist employed by Zsa-zsa Korda (played by Benicio del Toro) to tutor his nine sons and ends up falling for his daughter, a nun played by Mia Threapleton. Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Willem Dafoe, Rupert Friend, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bill Murray also feature in auteur Anderson’s latest caper. Despite the marked difference in Anderson and Wright’s filmmaking styles, it’s interesting that Cera plays a guileless, good-natured character in both. Cera certainly knows his brand, but the range of projects makes for a fresh performance every time and avoids the typecasting curse.
The Phoenician Scheme hits limited theaters on May 30th and opens nationwide on June 6th. Edgar Wright’s The Running Man will open on November 7th.
